Russia-Poland relations are at 'freezing point' in many areas — lawmaker

June 26 2015

TASS

The relations between Russia and Poland are at a "freezing point" in many areas, including inter-parliamentary ties, but this is not Russia’s fault, head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev told Polish Ambassador to Russia Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz on Friday.

The relations between Russia and Poland are at a "freezing point" in many areas, including inter-parliamentary ties, but this is not Russia’s fault, head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev told Polish Ambassador to Russia Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz on Friday.

"The Russian-Polish relations today are at a freezing point in many areas, but that was not our choice," the senator said, adding that inter-parliamentary relations were affected as well. "We do not have a direct dialogue with our colleagues in the Polish parliament," Kosachev said.

He noted that Poland stood out among other countries hostile to Russia because of its particularly tough stance, something that the Russian side is not always able to explain.

For her part, the Polish Ambassador recalled that the freezing of relations between Russia and Poland had begun more than a year ago. She added that this was "not a bilateral issue, but a very serious problem between Russia and the EU connected with the strategic situation in the region, the situation in Ukraine and Crimea." The Polish diplomat noted, though, that Moscow and Warsaw had to maintain dialogue. "Poland believes that the dialogue is an important resource," she said.